Choices

"Stuck in a chapter, but the story is far from over"

• Viviana •

"And you'll remember to call him tomorrow morning?" Dad asked
"Yes dad, now goodbye" I sighed, hanging up the phone as I looked at myself in the mirror
Was I too dressed up?

"What do you think?" I asked, catching Kat on her way past my room
"Fancy" she commented, stopping to lean on the door frame
"Too fancy?" I asked
"I'd say the right amount of class and office party" Archer chimed in, walking past.

• Viviana's Outfit •

"Yeah, you look elegant" Kat said
Elegant? That made me sound old
"Stop stressing alright, go and have a good time, if you can at an office party" she chuckled.

They were never fun, it was a bunch of old men enjoying the company and young workers trying to boost themselves up the ladder
Secretaries and PR employees all sucking up to Lucian for praise and a promotion.

Whilst he complained to me the entire night about it
"Don't stress" I mumbled to myself.

•

"Well this is... thrilling" I said, looking around
"I know, I can practically smell the enthusiasm in the room" Isla said, sipping from her champagne glass
Teddy was forced to abandon her rather quickly when they had arrived

He was wrapped up in boring conversations with the older men of the company, the sweet ones who like to reminisce about the old days and convince everyone they could still win a case if you put them in a courtroom.

Lucian was currently standing in a safe bubble, his few moments of peace with Casper and Eros before people would be brave enough to swarm him after a few drinks.
"How's the new boy getting on?" She asked, nodding over to Ellis

"He's getting on great, I think his main issues are figuring Lucian out" I chuckled
He was struggling to understand why things had to be a certain way
Why Lucian had to have things precise.

"He'll get the hang of it though" I added confidently
"Will he?" She asked
"You don't think?" I asked back
"I've been here 7 years Viv... and even I don't understand that man" she said, earning a laugh out of me

I honestly didn't think he was that hard to unravel
Although I've been with him every day in and out for years, so I suppose I had an advantage over most.

"Fair point" I mumbled, looking around, catching Ellis making his way over to us with Casper as Lucian became swarmed with businessmen
"Miss Romero, you're looking stunning tonight" Casper commented
"Thank you Casper" I rolled my eyes
"I see the big man has been stolen" Isla interjected.

"Yeah, I don't think he's very happy about it" Casper chuckled
"He certainly doesn't look happy" Ellis said
"Hence why I'm over here rather than there" Casper smiled.

I could understand that, it was easier to stay away from Lucian when he was in a bad mood.
I glanced at him, only to see him looking at me already
Before he turned his attention back to the people he was talking to.

"I'm going to get another drink" Isla said, walking off towards the makeshift bar set up
"How are you settling in then Ellis? You haven't seemed to have run home crying yet" Casper laughed
Ellis gave him a strange look
"That's what the last secretary did before Viv" he clarified

I remember hearing about her when I first started here
She had spilt coffee on files and Lucian shouted at her
So she quit.

"Well I think I'm doing alright, he hasn't shouted at me yet anyway" Ellis said lightheartedly
"You'll be fine, I'll be gone soon, so he'll have to put up with you either way" I said
Lucian would have to accept that I wouldn't be here anymore.

"That's... reassuring" Ellis said hesitantly

•

I regretted coming around an hour into the party
When everyone else had also become bored
Casper had gotten drunk and was sitting at someone's desk talking to a girl from marketing
Isla was stood by Teddy as he talked to his colleagues from his department

Ellis seemed to be the only one having a good time, making friends from various levels of the company

I had finally escaped the gaggle of the older men's wives, heading for the elevator
God knows where Eros or Lucian had disappeared to
But I needed a break
So I headed up to my floor, walking past the empty desks towards my own, when I caught sight of Lucian in his office

His glass walls darkened, only a glimpse of him through the door window
I knocked quietly, before entering
"Mind if I join you?" I asked
He glanced at me, up and down before returning his gaze to his drink
His very large drink and nearly empty bottle of vodka

"I guess" he said simply
"Thank goodness, everyone out there is so insufferable" I joked, sitting next to him.
"I'm not too sure, you seemed to have a good time talking to Matthews" he commented

Matthews? The guy from the floor below us
"He's more insufferable than most" I chuckled
"Well soon you'll be gone and you won't have to deal with my insufferable employees" he said, shooting me a look

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that" I said

• Lucian •

Then what did she mean it like?
I know
That she hated working here
She was leaving after all
"And for what it's worth, I am sorry to be leaving" she said

Was she? If she was sorry she would stay.

"Then why are you?" I asked sharply
"I have told you my reasons, doesn't mean I won't miss it here, I have friends, a home, a job I like" she said
Like? That's it?
"Believe me it isn't easy to uproot your whole life" she said, looking down into her glass she had picked up from my table

"Yes well... life is made of choices, it is your own to leave" I said
I felt the drink had hit my mind slightly
Maybe more than I thought it had
Because I knew I shouldn't be talking to her with such ferocity
"And it's yours to be bitter for it" she said

"What?" I snapped
"I'm aware you're annoyed about me leaving, but it doesn't mean my last few months here have to be hard, I thought we had come to a rather friendly and understanding relationship" she said, leaning across her chair to me

"So did I, until you resigned" I said
"Meaning?" She asked, I looked at her again, leaning in myself to make my point clear
"Meaning, you have decided to abandon your entire career for a temporary cause" I said
"It is not temporary, like I said, I shall live out there no matter what happens" she said.

"Right, come back to me in a year when everything's gone wrong" I scoffed
"If I were being foolish, I would say you were going to miss me being here" she smiled, trying to catch my eye once again to see my reaction

Would I miss her?
"Then you're definitely being foolish aren't you?" I said, dismissing it
"Am I?" She asked, I looked at her for a moment, unaware of close we had actually gotten
She looked... pretty

I thought she had from the moment she walked in, but the vodka, seemed to make the thought very prominent
She was smiling at me, half her face lit up by the fire beside us, her eyes shining
Hair pinned back like it always was
Asking and asking constantly to be let free from its restrictions

And that dress
That fucking dress that didn't belong here
She didn't belong here
Looking like that she belonged at a high end event, shown off and gawked at by prying eyes who wished to even catch her eye for a second.

But that smile
That soft smile that told me she was joking with me
That she was trying to be friendly and have us talk as if we were friends and not colleagues
Her... soft lips that conveyed the most innocent of smiles to a boss
Her boss
And yet the thoughts running through my head were anything but what I should be thinking.

• Viviana •

We had become so close
And he was... looking at my lips for such a long time
Whilst I stared at his eyes, trying to understand what he was thinking
So focused I nearly forgot the glass in my hands
That slipped with every second
So close and then

"Lucian- oh, sorry, I didn't realise you were in here Miss Romero" Eros said, hesitating at the door
And like that, the moment of... something had gone
My grip tightened on my glass, Lucian turned all attention away
And I stood up, somewhat startled by reality crashing into the room. Or rather... Eros

"No no it's fine I um... I was due back downstairs anyway" I said, setting my glass down and heading for the door
Without so much as a glance back at him, I left, heading for the elevator

• Lucian •

"What just happened?" Eros asked calmly, sitting opposite me
"Nothing" I said
"Nothing?" He asked
"I was talking to my secretary" I defended
"You were seconds away from kissing your secretary" he said

"Excuse me" Casper asked, entering the office as he laughed
"You heard me" Eros said
"Finally cracked eh?" Casper smiled, sitting next to me
"Drop it" I said sternly

"Is that why I just past her practically running out of here?" He chuckled
"Casper" I warned

"Look we don't blame you" Casper laughed
"I've been through a few secretary's, we all do it" he said
"There's no shame" he went on
"I am not in any sort of relationship with Viviana other than a professional one, do you understand?" I snapped at them
Eros nodded, knowing when to back down
"It's Viviana now?" Casper teased, not knowing when to back down.

Sorry for the break I had an unexpected trip, here's the three chapters from the weekend that should have been posted

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